InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Our Decision ❯ Blood-clad Illusion ( Chapter 17 )

A/N: Oh, my gosh! I LIVE! Ha, ha. Okay, I'm pretty sure you all just about hate me right now. I don't blame you a bit. I know it's been a LONG time since I've updated. To be honest, I wasn't planning on it being this long. I had no idea that all of the personal issues I was having were about to get a million times worse. Also, I've had the worst writer's block in the history of ever! Anyway, things are really getting better now, and I finally feel like I'm stable enough to write again. All right now! Let's see what my mind is going to come up with this time!

 

Disclaimer: My mommy told me she'd get me InuYasha for Christmas! Why is he still not mine? Dx

 

Chapter 17: Blood-clad Illusion

 

InuYasha stood in front of the stone, his brows concentrated deeply as he fixated his gaze on the structure. This is where it all began, and this is where it would end. In blood, he mentally added with distain, letting his claws tear his fleshy palms. Eyes drifting shut, the dusty air began to overtake him in arms like a knife to the throat. It was painful. He couldn't breathe. His thoughts glanced back on Kagome, the way she'd looked at him. It was as if all the pain he'd caused her had collided in her body, transforming into perfect abhorrence, crisp and irate. That was the last way she'd look at him. He shook his fists, his head lowering; he couldn't let himself think about her.

 

And the baby.

 

He lost his breath for a brief lapse as he lurched forward, dropping to his knees. Their daughter was already suffering, even before life. Disease. Death. Pain. Welcome to the world. Lifting his head to the sky, InuYasha placed a hand over his chest, just letting it touch him, his beating heart. He felt himself quake against the hard gravel, and he began to wish. Maybe if he just stayed there—just for a moment—the world would make sense. His heart would never stop.

 

“Sacrifice,” he said in disbelief, shaking his head. Slowly, he gripped the handle of Tetsusaiga, shivering at the sound of the blade scraping its sheath; and he could almost feel it tearing through his body. There would soon be blood smiling on the floor of the cave, singing the glories of death:

 

Here's to another life ended!

 

InuYasha slammed his knuckles into the stone, honing in on the sinful inscription that had pushed him into this journey—forced him with hands of ice. And now he was cold, withdrawn from the life he knew and the life he'd hoped for. He ached to place blame; Sango had asked.

 

No, he thought, I said yes. I gave in. Kagome and I . . . We touched. We kissed. I took her. He could see it all like a figure through a fire's light. Some parts were blurry, morphed together in washed out colors and blackness. And still, it was there. He knew it. He could still feel her heated skin against him, the honey taste of her lips, her wanting voice echoing around him in a blend of moans and cries; and it was real. Leaning forward, his eyes grabbed hold of his sword as his grip tightened around it. And now it's all over.

 

The blade was thrust forward, and letting it add to his form, InuYasha didn't move. He waited. Where was death? His body grew numb, unable to grasp the pain that wriggled in his gut. It was coming, creeping through his veins, each place it caressed turning into a frigid winter, bidding him goodnight. He let his eyes relax, his breath turning wispy, barely there.

 

Until it was nothing.

 

Kill . . . Let them all perish . . . He is mine . . .

 

The voice was quiet, seeming to sink into InuYasha as it stroked his skin, reverberating against his ears. His body felt heavy; he couldn't move. Languidly, his eyes began to peek open, taking in the scene around him. Everything was ashen, as if he'd been blinded by light and the pallid color was still lingering in his eyes. His body jerked slightly, his ears catching movement behind him.

 

“Ah, you're awake, InuYasha.”

 

He recognized the voice immediately. “Miroku,” he managed, “what . . .” At a loss for words, he turned his head. The monk was standing above him, his face whiskered and weary. Though his robes covered it, InuYasha could see that Miroku had been beaten by hunger. He sat up slowly, mouth hanging open. He couldn't understand it. Was he dead? Was Miroku? “What's going on?” he finally asked.

 

“Follow me and I'll explain,” Miroku said briskly, offering a quaking hand. InuYasha didn't hesitate, and he let himself be pulled to his feet, but there was no blood. He was sure there would be, and yet it seemed as if the blinding whiteness of the room had absorbed his wounds, filling its appetite to the brim, growing brighter with each taste of pain. As he trudged behind Miroku, InuYasha felt a strange energy begin to massage his body; it squirmed in his throat and his feet, pleading for release.

 

“What . . .” he began, his voice quivering in two different melodies. The urge to run overtook him, igniting his body softly at first, but the flames quickly surrounded him. He stopped. “Wait.”

 

Miroku didn't wait, pulling InuYasha with him. “You'll get used to it.” He glanced at the frantic half-demon behind him. “Just bear with it. It'll be over soon.”

 

But it didn't stop. InuYasha's body felt shrunken, dried up by the electricity jumping through his veins. It seemed like boiling rain was dancing over his skin, but he couldn't break the grip of Miroku's bony fingers. He needed to get away; the white world around him was quickly succumbing to the jaws of blackness. Legs going limp, he knelt before the satanic canvas, and the voice, the soft voice he'd heard before, was singing.

 

Dying, they're all dying.

 

“InuYasha, don't give in!” he heard Miroku scream. But the sound was enthralling. It was quicksand, and he was letting it swallow him whole.

 

This illusion is divine . . . Illusion . . . Divine . . .

 

“Illusion,” InuYasha repeated, and his minded echoed it over and over. Illusion, illusion, illusion, illusion. Is that what this all was? Was this a dream built in cruel cobblestones that would finally lead him to his demise? He couldn't pinpoint it, but he knew there was something there. That word, it was oozing with luscious importance. Beautiful. “Illusion,” he said again, and his urgency began to wither. It was slow at first. The burning flames on his flesh simply cooled down, morphing into a dull ache, a silver thread weaving through his head, sewing his mind to rest.

 

“We're here now,” Miroku told him with a shaky sigh. When InuYasha opened his eyes, his surroundings were a deep blue and Miroku seemed illuminated. Shadows hung around the monk's shriveled form like separate legs; they were begging to be attached. Miroku's face was pale, but it was glittering somehow. Confusion was eating InuYasha swiftly. Where were they?

 

“Miroku, what the hell is all this?” he demanded.

 

“Well . . .” Miroku nodded toward InuYasha's shaking body. “As you've noticed, there is a significant amount of energy here.”

 

“Where—”

 

“I'll explain.” As he spoke softly, Miroku moved closer to InuYasha. “Seven months ago, I was captured by a demon. I was taken here, and it took me a while to figure out what was happening or where I was. But the energy you were feeling and the voices you were hearing . . . I experienced the same things, and that's when I realized what it was.”

 

InuYasha groaned. “Cut the shit already!” he said, his fists clenching into balls. “I'm sick of idiots beating around the bush because they don't want say something! If we're dead, just say it!”

 

“We're alive. The demon that took me, he's an enemy of Naraku's. He knew that one of the things Naraku has been craving for is your death. By taking me from the group, and using some type of ransom I assume, the demon has weakened us.”

 

“Ransom,” InuYasha laughed out, sarcasm dripping from his lips. He shook his head. “You don't have a damn idea about what's happened! Everything is ruined now!” His eyes lowered with his voice. “Everything is ruined . . .”

 

“And that was the point,” Miroku explained. “Not only did the demon want to get to you before Naraku, it also wanted to get to Naraku before you did. The energy you've been feeling . . . InuYasha, this demon possesses over half the Shikon Jewel.” He ignored the hanyou's flabbergasted expression and continued, “The power from the jewel is what's kept me alive, but it's been passing by me recently. It's as if I've become immune. And the reason this demon's energy overpowers you so is because we're inside it . . . We're inside its mind, InuYasha.”

 

It took InuYasha a moment to understand it all. It seemed like someone was giving him a speech while pounding a rock against his head. Words. Pain. More words. More pain. With every passing second, Miroku's voice was becoming harder to listen to. All he understood was that this was a game. A baby . . . That wasn't what this demon wanted. It wouldn't just exchange Miroku like that; Miroku would never be free. So every fight with Kagome had been a waste. The tears, the scars, the hate, they were all worth nothing. Fury began to suck at his throat. Nothing. This hell was for nothing.

 

“Kagome's pregnant,” he said so quietly that his voice was barely there. “Having a baby was supposed to get you back . . . We couldn't tell Sango no . . .” He realized it then. They weren't going to get out. He'd never seen Kagome again. He'd never see his child. Glancing back at Miroku, took a deep breath. “How did you figure it all out?”

 

Miroku met his eyes with concern. “I listened to the voices. I suppose they're the demon's thoughts.”

 

“Illusion,” InuYasha whispered suddenly. He straightened himself, questions pouring through his head. “Did you hear a voice say that? Illusion, a divine illusion,” he said. Then he grinned. “I think I understand.”

 

(000000000000000000000)

 

Kagome awoke with a start. Her face was cold, glazed and shuddering. Now back in her room, she felt uneasy. The comfort of the crowded hospital had seemingly fallen out the window, and everything was different now. It was crawling in her skin. In the hospital, nothing was out of place. The walls were plain, easy to comprehend; everything happened by the clock. Tick: in comes a nurse. Tock: there she goes again. But in her bed, there was something missing. It lapped at her fingertips, and she could feel it burning through her body. Trembling, she sat up and gazed at her pregnant belly. Just three more months to go, then . . . She couldn't finish the thought. Yes, she would have a baby girl, but what came next?

 

“InuYasha,” she heard herself murmur. Somehow, he'd been absent from her mind while she was still in the hospital, and it never occurred to her just how much she missed him. It was clear now. Crystal, she noted mentally, a small laugh creeping from her lips. What had changed? Why had he—even for a few days—disappeared from her heart? “It wasn't me,” she said. “Something happened . . . I know that . . .”

 

She placed her feet on the carpet, letting it rub across her toes before she stood. The moon was smiling against her window, just waiting to kiss her cheeks. It would be slow, gentle; the way InuYasha had kissed her after he made love to her. Her thoughts began running in circles around that night, and wasn't just about the heat that sent tendrils of ecstasy winding around her. It was everything that came afterward: chaste tenderness and ease. Her eyes fell back on her stomach.

 

“Wanna go see your daddy?” she asked with a forced laugh. She sighed softly. “I do.”

 

But when Kagome climbed out of the well, she felt herself go hollow. He wasn't there. She could already tell. Her insides became cold, and she needed to run, to weave herself out of this strange entrapment. Moving as quickly as she could, she couldn't keep her eyes off the trees. They were looming over her, swinging gradually closer, and she just watched them encase her. Capture me, she thought. Go ahead. Give me another obstacle. Why not add more to this twisted soap opera? She avoided a small bush; the trees were coming closer. No, it just needs to stop! I'm so tired . . . Just stop!

 

Kagome slowed herself, her hand jerking toward her abdomen. Stop. She really did need to stop. Glancing at her surroundings, she took a deep breath. The tree was lying in the clearing ahead, waiting for her to get there and wish it a good evening, or maybe just to visit, to lie among its roots for a while. She could let the moon wash her of this mess and enjoy the tree's silent company. Her tree. InuYasha's tree. She pushed past gnarled branches and fluttering leaves, stepping slowly into its realm with every intent to let herself delve into its majesty. But she couldn't.

 

InuYasha was there, pinned to the tree.

 

A/N: All right, so what if I'm evil? xD It's a gift. I am very sorry for the long wait. I really have had a lot going on. Anyway, I do hope that this cleared some things up for you all. I wanted to make it longer, but this was the direction I decided to take instead. Ding! I think I hear resolution in the future. You know what that means! This story is going to be ending. It won't be for a little while, but the end is in sight. I'm sorry if anyone's disappointed, but I'm actually relieved. Ahem. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this latest edition. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks.